


Erudition Through Exploitation

by Evil Angel (bluedragon88)



Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 08:35:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25966744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluedragon88/pseuds/Evil%20Angel
Summary: This was my entry in the Conscripto2020 contest. Spoilers for MHA manga if you're not caught up.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 14





	Erudition Through Exploitation

It was often well known throughout Tamriel that there existed certain beings who enjoyed the opportunity to meddle in the affairs of mortals. Chief among these beings were the Daedric Princes, ancient entities whose influence and reputation led to their worship being widely discontinued. Over the years, many attempted to banish the Princes from their mind. But try though they did, their efforts were always fruitless. The world around them never ceased to display the signs of these beings and their wretched influence. If one listened closely, or looked in the right places, one could stumble upon artifacts left in the mortal realm by the Daedric Princes. 

Even though most sought to label each of the Daedric Princes as "evil" and completely removed from one another, they knew deep within themselves that the claim wasn't entirely true. Rare though it was for the Princes to collaborate, it was also not entirely unheard of. If there were enough benefits to reap from an event, then these powerful beings could be known to set aside their differences and come together as a unified front. Little did anyone know, one such alliance forged in malicious intent amongst the ranks of the Daedric Princes would soon give birth to a never before seen problem for Tamriel.

~~~

The sun's rays that filtered through the bleak and dreary clouds seemed to bathe the cold, unforgiving land below in a dim light. The liquid curtain flowing from overhead only added to the dismal air that clung to everything it made contact with, like an embrace of gloom. In the haze that wrapped its spectral fingers around the surrounding environment, a lone figure could be seen as it made its way on horseback over the worn cobblestone roads settled into the earth below. Armor that appeared to be made of the bones of some massive creature and a dark metallic substance attired the figure from head to toe. Upon its back rested a greataxe with a long black handle, crafted from the same material as the armor. The same could be said for the bow that also sat strung to its back.

As more details became apparent, the loner steadily took on a more masculine build with broad shoulders and a strong jawline. Not much else could be discerned beyond the dark beard that ended in a braid, visible from the opening at the bottom of the man's draconic helmet. Eyes of piercing  ice blu e swept over the area, analyzing any and every detail they could manage in the  split-second glances they ceaselessly performe d. But for all the hyper awareness the lone warrior maintained and exercised, nothing could have prepared him for the gaping rift that opened up in the air above him not 10 heartbeats later.

Instantly he dismounted his steed and drew his greataxe,  which gleamed along the black handle and polished bone, his body tensed with shock as he searched his surroundings with a renewed vigor. Ultimately it was futile, as the cautious adventurer  yet again found nothing that posed any ill intent. Thus, the male's primary focus returned to the rift from before, which sparked with  black bolts of energy that arced away from the swirling vortex in the center of the aperture . No matter how many possibilities the loner presented to himself, he failed to produce a likely candidate for the source of the phenomenon before him.

Still on high alert, the figure returned his greataxe to its resting place over his back and instead drew his bow, an arrow made of the same components as his other weapons and armor pieces already nocked and drawn. In what was clearly a fluid, well-practiced motion, he fingered the flights of the arrow as he inhaled a steadying breath and lined up the shot. Only when the warrior was confident that the shot would meet its mark did he release the string of the bow, along with the breath he'd been holding, and let loose the arrow on its path towards the rift. Though it did not surprise him, the bearded man was disappointed when he watched the arrow pass into the rift with no effect. However, before anything else could be done in the hopes of learning more about the mysterious phenomenon,  people began to spill forth from it .

As a handful of forms emerged from the rift, flailing while they fell, the adventurer prepared to confront whoever - or whatever - had just appeared before him. By his count, there were only four figures that had fallen, but that did nothing to ease the need for caution that he felt. That feeling was only further amplified when one figure surrounded itself with green lightning and began to move at incredibly high speeds and grabbed one of the others, and another one began to release explosions from its hands to maintain some semblance of arial control.  _ 'I've never seen spells like those before. Where in Oblivion did they come from? And what is it they want?' _

The next thing that caught the loner's eye came in the form of a green tendril that emerged from a sea of eyes behind the fourth figure, whom he could just barely distinguish some white-ish silver hair on before the tentacle dragged them away and disappeared. He made a mental note of the entity, already suspicious of it's true nature. If he was right about it, that would mean that the warrior had a lot more to be concerned about than he had initially believed. It wasn't long before he was plucked from his string of thoughts as the remaining three figures approached and the details became easier to distinguish. But what the armored man saw left him feeling as though he'd taken a solid blow to the head and experienced a significant case of whiplash.

Two of them were but boys, barely old enough to wield a blade, and the third looked as if he'd fit right in on the streets begging passers-by for a spare septim, or at the very least the disheveled man looked like he could use a good night and some ale at the Bannered Mare. The instant he and the unkempt man locked eyes, the adventurer watched as the foreigner's black hair stood on end and his eyes illuminated in a vibrant scarlet hue while the two boys dropped into combat stances. Emerald lightning sparked off the one with, oddly enough, forest green hair and diamond patterned freckles, while small pops of flame spewed forth from the palms of the blonde one with the angry ruby eyes. The armored male could feel  his magicka seemingly vanish under the raggedy adult's luminescent glare, much to his surprise. Then the man gripped his scarf in what somehow managed to be a threatening manner, and spoke. "Who the hell are you? Where are we? And where did Shigaraki go?"

In the hopes of reaching a diplomatic solution to his current predicament, the loner decided to answer the stranger's questions. "I am Balgrund, a proud Nord, and Harbinger of the Companions." Upon noticing the blank stares he received back even after his mention of the honorable warriors that called Jorrvaskr home, he knew that they definitely weren't from anywhere nearby. "Since you obviously aren't from anywhere around  _ here _ , this is Skyrim, at the northern end of Tamriel. We are about an hour away from the city of Whiterun, if we travel on foot. As for your final question, if that's the fourth person who came through that rift with you, he's been taken somewhere else. Now, if you don't mind, I believe I'm owed some introductions as well."

The glare from the haggard looking man seemed to lose a sliver of its intensity and his body language became just a hair less rigid, settling for caution instead of outright hostility upon receiving some much needed answers. "Alright. I'm Shouta Aizawa, and these two boys are my students, Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugo," the adult introduced, gesturing to the green haired boy first, followed by the blonde. "All we know is that some sort of warp quirk seemed to activate around Shigaraki, and as the closest people to him, we were drawn in as well. Before we could do anything to prevent it, we found ourselves here."

The more time Balgrund took to look at the three individuals before him, the more he had to suppress the urge to laugh at them. Aizawa looked like he'd just crawled out of bed and thrown a scarf over his shoulders, goggles on his head, and some shoes on his feet before walking out the door. The Midoriya boy gave the impression of a bright green rabbit that couldn't decide whether to pursue his curiosity or to curl in on himself and pretend no one could see him. And the other boy, Bakugo, looked like he was stuck in a permanent state of being just a single breath away from popping a blood vessel. All in all, they certainly appeared to be quite the colorful crew.

Though colorful the trio as a whole may have been, the Harbinger soon found himself  educated in the even more colorful art of anger management issues manifested in a corporeal form : Bakugo. The course of events up to this point had not prepared him for the torrential flood of hostility and vulgarity that cascaded from the boy's lips. "Why the fuck should we trust this bastard and his shitty goddamn word?! He could just be screwing with our heads and feeding us bullshit stories! We should just kick his ass now and make him spill everything he knows!" the blonde argued, glaring ruby daggers of suspicion at the Skyrim native. However, before Bakugo could open his mouth to shout once more, it was clamped shut by Aizawa's scarf as the man's eyes bore holes into his pupil.

"Listen to me right now, Bakugo. That type of mindset only shows how much you still have yet to improve on. What good would attacking him do when he's not shown any signs of posing a threat? We have no idea what his quirk is, and that outfit only further disguises any features that might help us learn it. There are more pressing matters to deal with currently, so we will speak more on this later. Right now, to attack him with so many variables unaccounted for would be nothing short of complete foolishness,"  the teacher reprimanded, his eyes glowing and hair raised with yet another use of whatever spell  _ that _ was, while his scarf wrapped around the teen and pinned his arms to his sides. "You will behave yourself, and do exactly as you're told. Am I clear?"

The boy only grunted and averted his gaze, clearly furious about his predicament but unwilling or unable to do anything about it. After Aizawa released him, he remained silent, though his rage was apparent to all as it seethed just beneath the surface. The other lad, Midoriya, just watched the exchange with apprehension as his eyes flicked between his teacher and his fellow student. Balgrund made the decision to simply ignore the blonde's outburst and instead looked to Aizawa once again. "Well, that little...experience...aside, I am curious about a couple of things. However, time doesn't seem to be something you're all that keen on wasting, so if it's all the same to you  lot, I'd suggest we walk and talk." 

It didn't take long for the student/teacher trio to follow the armored warrior who had already set off towards Whiterun. Once he could hear that he was being accompanied, Balgrund started the conversation up once more, though his eyes remained forward and alert for signs of danger. "So before we get to Whiterun, I have a few questions of my own I'd like answered.  Who is this Shigaraki guy you're looking for? A friend of yours, or a foe? What exactly are these so-called 'quirks' you mentioned before? And what are those spells I saw you using, with the green lightning, the glowing red eyes, and the flames bursting from the palms?" questioned the adventurer, who only hoped his attempt to finally dig up some answers would bear fruit.

Aizawa was the one who supplied the response as expected, but the answers received were far less anticipated. "Shigaraki is an enemy, and an immensely powerful one at that. He's undoubtedly deranged , has an incredibly potent healing factor combined with unreasonable strength, and he has the power to make things decay if he touches them with all five fingers. Though now its become capable of transferring through other objects that come into contact with anything that Shigaraki has started decaying. Our quirks are the abilities you saw us using that you called 'spells'. Everyone has something different, such as my Erasure, which can shut down other people's quirks, and Bakugo's Explosion, which allows him to ignite his sweat and turn it into what you saw earlier. I'm also curious about your quirk. I haven't seen you use it, at least not as far as I'm aware of."

It took several moments for Balgrund to find what to say after what he'd heard. "I don't have a...quirk...as you put it. I have magicka that I use to perform spells, and I can speak in the dragons' tongue, shouting as they do. I'm what's known as Dragonborn, or Dovahkiin in the dragons' tongue. I absorb the souls of dragons and inherit their power," he explained before hearing a quiet sound that almost resembled some form of chant from behind him. When he turned to locate the source of the noise , he realized it was Midoriya, mumbling and writing something down in some sort of book he'd never seen before . The warrior could only watch and wonder,  _ 'Is he...analyzing me? And where the hell did that book come from?' _

When the aforementioned teen realized he had gone on another mumbling spree and started dissecting someone's abilities without their permission, he very nearly jumped out of his own skin as he waved his hands frantically in front of his face with profuse apologies. "I-I-I'm so s-sorry! I-I d-dint mean t-to invade your p-privacy or anyth-thing!" Midoriya stammered, his eyes pointed down in embarrassment and shame as he bent in a solid ninety degree bow. Balgrund just stared at the boy with stunned amusement. Between him and Bakugo, the Dragonborn was likely to get whiplash just being around the two polar opposites. He had no worldly idea how Aizawa could manage to teach the two of them at once, and he was sure he didn't want to try his hand at it.

The teacher simply gave an exhausted sigh, shake of his head, and gestured for the warrior to continue leading the way. "Let's go, problem child," the ragged male grumbled to the green haired boy who shot up instantly and nodded before wasting no more time following the two adults in front of him. Having taken care of that, Aizawa turned his eyes to Balgrund once more while he sorted out what he intended to say next. "Alright, so quirks aren't a thing here, it seems. And another thing you said earlier caught my attention. You said Shigaraki was 'taken somewhere else'. Where was he taken, and by who?'

Though he knew the question was coming, the adventurer still had to inhale deeply in preparation for what he knew would be unwanted news. "Taking into account what you told me about this 'Shigaraki', I can assure you that what you're about to hear is not good news. It's hard to say where he's been taken, but my guess would be Apocrypha. As for who took him, it's more of a  _ what _ took him. Hermaeus Mora, the Daedric Prince of Knowledge, and something I've had my fair share of encounters with. He's known as the Gardener of Men because he's constantly taking advantage of mortals' desire to attain knowledge and power, which he then adds to his collection by any means necessary. Apocrypha is his realm, and a place I hope to never return to if I can help it. He likely intends to use Shigaraki as his 'champion' so he can both be rid of me and learn more about your world."

As Balgrund concluded his summary of their opponent, he could see the gates of Whiterun just up ahead. Upon catching sight of him, the guards greeted the Thane of Whiterun while permitting the three people with him entry into the city. "Alright, we'll continue this conversation once we reach my home. Just follow me and don't do anything stupid," he instructed, eyes near instantly locking on Bakugo before they scanned over the other two as well. With a satisfied nod, the guards opened the gates and the four entered the city, making their way towards the resident's home. It took them no time at all to reach the quaint little structure of Breezehome and enter the building silently, not a word uttered until the door closed behind them and they all sat down in the chairs provided around the cooking spit.

The air of reticence that hung like a blanket over the group lasted even as Balgrund lit the fire beneath the cooking spit to bathe the room in a pleasant amber glow. When the group had finally prepared themselves to broach the prior conversation yet again, it was, to the surprise of all present, Midoriya who broke the stillness. "S-so, how much d-does this Hermaeus M-Mora know, exactly? Do you t-think he's responsible for b-bringing us here?" the green-clad boy questioned, his emerald eyes laser-focused and jaw set with hardened determination even though his stutter had not quite faded. 

There were a few moments of pause as the Dragonborn eyed Bakugo, who'd remained silent so far with what could almost be described as a thousand-yard stare. The teen's ruby orbs were glazed over and there was no outward display to signify that he had registered anything they'd said since the group entered the building. When Midoriya caught sight of how the other boy was behaving, concern made itself known upon his visage as he timidly voiced, "K-K-Kacchan? Are you a-alright?" and to even further concern, received no response from the blonde whatsoever. Yet only a few brief moments later, the focus returned to the explosive lad's gaze and his head went on a swivel as he realized he'd become the center of attention in the room.

"The fuck is everyone looking at me for, huh?! I didn't do anything, damnit!" Bakugo burst out, his features etched with suspicion and rage while the tirade continued. "Everyone always wants to look at me like I'm fucking beneath them, don't you ever learn?! I'm gonna be stronger than all you bastards, so don't you dare look down on me!" roared the irate adolescent whose demented behavior held no indication that it would cease in the near future. At the first flash of sparks that manifested in the boy's palms, Aizawa instantly activated his 'quirk' as they had called it, which snuffed the sparks out just as abruptly as they'd appeared. Utilizing the opportunity he'd just created, the disheveled teacher struck the back of the combat ready Bakugo's neck with a quick knife-hand chop to incapacitate the rapidly destabilizing blonde before he caught him and settled the unconscious body safely on the floor.

"Does he normally have outbursts like that one there?" Balgrund queried, his ice blue orbs still fixated on the aforementioned boy that was currently unresponsive on the floor. When the teacher and his remaining conscious student exchanged a silent glance and did not speak for several moments, the warrior understood that something about this didn't feel right to them. And as he thought about the look in the teen's eyes as he glared at them, the armored male found he was almost inclined to agree with them. The faraway look that initially clouded Bakugo's gaze before it morphed into a countenance of distrust and spite led the experienced adventurer to suspect that there was more to this outburst than they knew, and that time was not going to be their ally through this. Finally, Aizawa just shook his head, unable to find the words to express the thoughts swirling like a maelstrom within the man's mind.

A look of contemplation swept over Balgrund's face as he stared at Bakugo in an attempt to deduce the best course of action to break through to the troubled youth. But, tried though he did several times over, the man was unable to pinpoint a reliable strategy with the limited knowledge he had of the blonde's newly developed...condition, for lack of a better term. With no feasible alternatives in sight, the Dragonborn heaved a weary sigh and leveled his two conscious companions with a gaze that exhibited a sense of absolute authority. "Until we know exactly what induced an even more aggressive reaction than what seems to be the usual for him, we need to keep Bakugo detained. There's no telling what he could be capable of if that level of paranoia were to see another rise, and I for one would prefer to have him with us when we confront this Shigaraki fellow. You've made it rather clear he isn't an opponent to be taken lightly."

It was clear that teacher and student alike were dissatisfied with the decision that had been made, but seeing as they had found themselves just as incapable of providing a more desirable solution, they soon acquiesced. Before the silence could drag on, Midoriya found his voice as he stared down the two adults with a confidence that seemed to well up from somewhere deep inside the boy, hidden until now. "I-I think we need to leave the town," he declared, his stutter nearly entirely absent as his eyes shone with steely resolve. "There are t-too many variables in this situation that we can't account for, and that makes us m-more dangerous to the citizens the longer we're here. We should leave."

Aizawa was the first to nod with a soft note of pride that made itself known in his features. They both cast a glance over towards Balgrund, who conceded. "Alright, then we need to get going. I'll take my horse so we have a way of getting Bakugo around, just give me a few minutes to drop off any unnecessary equipment and make us something quick to eat before we hit the road," the adventurer voiced before he made his way upstairs towards his room. Once he was satisfied that he was carrying only the essentials for their objective, he rejoined the other two to assist them in the preparations to transport the still unconscious teen. After the brief meal, it took them roughly half an hour before they were confident beyond a shadow of a doubt that they had everything set for them to leave, which they wasted little time doing as they set about putting distance between themselves and Whiterun's gates.

The group traveled until night hung overhead, the glimmer of stars and beams of moonlight  washing the land below in a pale glow. Since they'd left Whiterun, the travelers had ensured that they kept their distance from any large settlements that could get caught in the middle of the inevitable battle. None of them were certain where it was that they were headed, only that it needed to be removed from people for the moment when Shigaraki would come. After all, they had no intention of trying to take him down in Hermaeus Mora's realm of Apocrypha. They'd rather take their chances on the outside than to set themselves up for failure by confronting Shigaraki on the closest thing to a home turf that the madman could get on this side of the rift.

As Balgrund led the trio across the vast expanse of Skyrim's wilderness, he had memories of one specific location come to mind. If they wanted to hold their clash against Shigaraki somewhere that normal citizens wouldn't end up caught in the crossfire, then where better to go than the ruins of the town where the dragons first returned: Helgen. Ever since Helgen initially fell to the dragon Alduin, the only type of people to frequent the stone rubble were bandits and mercenaries. And since there had been no attempts at reconstruction, any devastation that befell the area wouldn't be detrimental to any would-be residents. Content with his intended plan of action, the Nord began to move with real purpose as he spearheaded the journey towards their now official destination. 

No words were exchanged between the group as they traversed the lands on their way to Helgen with their unconscious passenger, but no words were necessary. Each of them understood that the only path towards repairing the rift and returning the three heroes home went through Shigaraki and Hermaeus Mora. And that meant that there was no turning away from this confrontation, not that any of them had the intentions of doing so. Not to mention, they still had to keep an eye on Bakugo, who had yet to rouse from his forcefully induced slumber. Thus the party  advanced with gritted teeth and eyes akin to infernos of conviction, resolute in their intentions.

Luckily enough, they had already been headed in the right direction after leaving Whiterun, so the trek to Helgen didn't take more than a couple hours due to weaving through known hotspots of bandit activity such as Embershard Mine and Skybound Watch. Occasionally the odd wolf or sabre cat would catch wind of them, but a quick use of Balgrund's Thu'um as he shouted,  _ "Kaan!" _ abruptly ceased any aggression the beasts held and left them benign. Being focused on their surroundings, the Dragonborn missed the look of fascination and awe that shined in Midoriya's emerald orbs upon witnessing his power for the first time.

O nce the old towns gates came into view, the warrior cast a smirk back at his comrades. "Welcome to Helgen! Or rather, what  _ used _ to be Helgen until the dragons made their return. We all thought they were mere legends, but as I heard a wise man once say, 'legends don't burn down villages'. So keep your eyes peeled, got it? We could be caught unawares by any manner of unsavory individuals or creatures if we aren't cautious."

With nods from Aizawa and Midoriya to express their acknowledgment of his warning, Balgrund turned to the open gates of the dilapidated town and drew his greataxe as he peered forward while motioning for the other two to be ready.  _ "Zul Mey Gut!" _ he whispered, the sound coming from a point roughly 10 feet inside Helgen's gates instead of from his lips. Slowly, 3 humanoid figures came into sight, weapons drawn as they searched for the source of the odd noise. The figures had absolutely no warning before a blur of green flashed in their vision and their worlds went dark. Midoriya stood in the midst of the three unconscious bandits and gave the all clear, much to the approval of the two adults. 

Before Aizawa and Balgrund could pass through the gates, however, the sounds of shuffling  behind them alerted the men another possible issue. As their attention snapped to the source of the disturbance they were greeted with the sight of Bakugo,  who'd made his way off the horse and now knelt upon the cobblestone road that lead into Helgen while grasping at his head.  The boy's eyes were screwed shut and his teeth gritted as though he'd been seized in the unforgiving grasp of pure agony. A sheen of sweat clung to the blonde's skin, causing both adults to take several cautious steps back as their eyes remained glued to the bipedal explosive. It was then that the teen's strained voice reached their ears as he growled, "Damnit you bastard, get the fuck out of my head!"

Aizawa and Balgrund exchanged glances that held mixtures of concern and trepidation as they gradually edged closer to the increasingly unhinged blonde,  who'd made his way off the horse and now knelt upon the cobblestone road that lead into Helgen while still grasping at his head . What they didn't see was that Midoriya had not joined them with Bakugo because at the moment he began to take off towards them, a  virescent fog manifested in front of the teen, which forced him to leap back as he glared at the fog  with vigilance as dozens of eyes and tentacles emerged. As repulsive as the sight was, it wasn't until the entity spoke that all present felt an involuntary shudder  traverse down their spines. The disembodied voice felt like oil  running through their veins, making them feel filthy and inconsequential as they all froze in place aside from the Dragonborn, who slowly turned to glare at the writhing mass of eyes and tentacles. As their eyes bored holes into one another, Balgrund stated the entity's name, "Hermaeus Mora," with all the warmth of those infamous Skyrim winters.

**"Ahhhhh, Dragonborn, we meet again, my unwilling champion. Have you enjoyed these futile attempts to reverse my work? I am the Keeper of Secrets, and the Knower of the Unknown. Nothing can escape my grasp, even from beyond the world's boundaries. The libraries of Apocrypha shall only continue to expand as I extend my influence to other realms. And so I offer you one last chance, mortal, to serve me faithfully and willingly as my champion. You will be rewarded with knowledge and power the likes of which you cannot yet fathom as you aid me in my desires. What say you?"** came the condescending drawl of the Daedric Prince of Knowledge as his many eyes observed the group of four.

"I told you before, and I'll tell you again. I'm not your champion, and I refuse to become a puppet to the likes of you," Balgrund asserted, his icy blue  orbs like frozen lakes as he glared at the Gardener of Men. As soon as those words left his lips, the warrior looked on as two more figures emerged from Mora's fog that caused the Dragonborn to freeze with barely suppressed dread: an elderly looking gentleman dressed in bizarre finery of varying shades, and a male with silver-blue hair and a face marred by wrinkles and scars. The elderly gentleman had graying hair with a short beard and eyes that seemed to gleam with an unspoken lunacy. The other male appeared to hold the same gleam in his eyes, though it was not quite as bright. The elderly gentleman smiled as his gaze swept over those before him, taking a few extra moments of pause on Bakugo before he spoke.

**"Well, well, well, lookey what we have here. It's the party crasher! I was rather enjoying my vacation, ya know! Now I need a new form of entertainment, and** **_you're_ ** **gonna help me. That is, of course, unless you want the lad over yonder to completely lose his mind. Do ya think he'd find it, or would I be better off making a stew of it? Would you like some if I did that, or would you prefer a pie? After all, he's such a wonderful amalgamation of insecurities shrouded in arrogance and hostility, I've already given him a little taste of what some madness will do to your fragile mortal psyche. Oh, he'd just be so much** **_FUN_ ** **to break, and watching him disembowel you so I can use your insides to decorate my throne in the Shivering Isles would simply be** **_delightfully_ ** **exquisite! That would be worthy of a feast! OF CHEESE! OH-HO, THE CHEESE WOULD TRULY BE TO DIE FOR! I wonder what kind Mora likes. No? Then I have another idea. If you can defeat ol' Hermy here's champion, then you live. The other mortal meatbags get to return to their own world, and I** **_won't_ ** **erode the blonde's mind into brain soup. Or maybe I will, I'm not sure yet. If you lose or fail to entertain me, you die, your new comrades die, I play Ragnar the Red with your bones. Herma-Mora will proceed to claim knowledge from new worlds as he takes champions from them to further fuel his thirst, and we all enjoy your final moments as the light fades from your eyes! HAHAH!"**

Silence reigned for several moments as Balgrund fixed the elderly male with a genuine death stare, before he uttered, "Sheogorath, Daedric Prince of Madness. Let's just add to the heaping pile of problems I've got, shall we?" while he tried to think of any other options out of their current predicament. But no matter how much he strove to come up with  _ anything _ else, he could see the harsh reality in front of him. He didn't trust Sheogorath or Hermaeus Mora as far as he  could throw them , but this wager was perhaps his only chance. If this failed, then the Madgod was right: they'd all be dead anyways. So with great reluctance, the warrior nodded curtly, his gaze never once faltered as Sheogorath just smiled jovially.

It was then that the final person spoke up, his voice scratchy as if he didn't talk much or simply had lasting damage. "Izuku Midoriya...I'll be taking One for All," the sliver haired male rasped, eyes glued to the boy he'd spoken to. It was clear to Balgrund that this man must be Shigaraki, the enemy that Aizawa and his students had been so adamant on bringing down since they'd arrived. His grasp still firmly on his greataxe, the warrior gave Shigaraki a look of scrutiny under the hopes that he might discover any information that could be of use. Unfortunately for them, nothing the Nord could see gave him so much as an inkling of possible weaknesses or strengths, which meant that he'd have to find them on the fly.

Before he could make any sort of move, the distorted growl-like laughter of Hermaeus Mora invaded his thoughts.  **"Foolish mortal. If you wish to stand against Hermaeus Mora, the Daedric Prince of Knowledge and Lord of Fate, then your life is forfeit. Tomura Shigaraki, my new champion, do away with the Dragonborn. His usefulness to me has...expired. In fact, dispense of the other mortals as well. I do not require them to live for me to extract the knowledge I desire,"** instructed the deity, and  within moments the situation jad taken a turn for the worse . The veteran adventurer nearly missed Shigaraki dash towards Midoriya with an open, outstretched palm as the boy leapt away with the same green lightning from before enveloped around his body reminiscent of a cloak spell. Balgrund quickly took into account both Aizawa and Bakugo, the former using his quirk to erase Shigaraki's and the latter shooting Sheogorath an enraged glare while still clutching at his head with one hand.

Not one to sit back when there's a battle to be won, the Dragonborn took a deep breath, before he shouted,  _ "Mul Qah Diiv!" _ which manifested a set of spectral armor identical to the set he currently wore, followed by,  _ "Wuld Nah Kest!" _ to rocket himself towards Shigaraki at blinding speeds as he swung his greataxe in a lethal downward arc upon the villain. But to the warrior's astonishment, the silver-haired male's eyes flicked towards him with superhuman reflexes as his free arm shot up to block the swing. As if to make matters worse, the greataxe bit down into the bone of Shigaraki's forearm before coming to an abrupt halt, showcasing the ridiculous durability of his opponent. Just heartbeats later a streak of green bore down on the distracted foe, followed by the image of a foot planted into Shigaraki's cheek that sent him careening into the rubble of a nearby building, freeing Balgrund's weapon in the process. Midoriya planted himself beside the armored adult in a battle-ready stance, only sparing a glance to ensure he was alright before they returned to where Shigaraki had landed.

When Shigaraki burst forth from the debris, the Dragonborn positioned himself in front of the student and shouted  _ "Krii Lun Aus!" _ , noticing the instance of confusion on the male's face when he felt himself weaken as he clashed with Balgrund. When Shigaraki clamped the axe handle in a vice-grip, the weapon quickly began to break down, which alerted the warrior that Aizawa's quirk was no longer active and forced him to instantly release the weapon to avoid the same fate. With an empowered right hook, the currently weaponless adventurer momentarily stunned Shigaraki long enough for Midoriya to flip over Balgrund's shoulders and deliver an axe kick to the villain's head, planting him face first into the stones below before he grabbed the adult and put some distance between them. Shigaraki recovered only moments later, shooting towards the teen once more with an ocean of bloodlust flooding his gaze and an outstretched palm that sought to seize his target. But a thunderous blast resounded and filled the area with smoke as Shigaraki was yet again blown off course, only for it to clear up to reveal a heavily panting Bakugo with a feral grin forced over the strain he was clearly enduring. "I ain't gonna be the number one for nothing, you bastards! Your goddamn mind tricks will never bring me down!"

As Shigaraki landed hard on the ground, Balgrund repeated  _ "Krii Lun Aus!" _ a second time, finally having a notable effect as the downed foe took a few moments longer to raise himself back to his feet. When he charged them once more, the villain's movements were slower and easier to read, but the fact remained that he was still faster than they were. With little time to think, the seasoned warrior planted himself between the approaching enemy and the two boys, his hands firmly clenched the attacker’s shoulders as he held him off and prayed Aizawa had reactivated his quirk. When the boys sprang away and Balgrund didn't turn into bits of Nord dust, he silently thanks the raggedy teacher before ramming the horned crown of his helmet into Shigaraki's brow to disorient him and then slamming the man into the cobblestone street below. He pinned his hands and kept him face-down, at the very least hoping to delay the monstrous opponent until the Dragonborn could use another shout.

Unfortunately for them, the downed villain wasn't weakened enough for that tactic as he broke free of Balgrund's grip and caught the armored male with a vicious backhand that launched him, tumbling, into a stone wall a few feet away. Stunned after the brutal strike that  utterly rattled his senses , Balgrund couldn't react quickly enough when Shigaraki propelled himself towards him with the obvious intent to kill, and yet the deathblow never came. While Shigaraki was focused on the Dragonborn, Midoriya and Bakugo had set aside their differences long enough to launch a collaborative attack to assist the stranger who'd done so much to help them. Midoriya grasped Bakugo's arm and spun him around, quirk charged up to the maximum output his body could withstand before he launched the blonde, who immediately let loose several explosions as he turned into a combustible high-speed projectile. The only warning Shigaraki had before the destructive vortex of fire made devastating contact with his body was Bakugo's voice when he roared, "HOWITZER IMPACT!"

Balgrund absorbed every detail he could manage of the sight before him as Shigaraki was hurtled through the air and crashed into the stone structure of Helgen Keep with an unpleasant  _ crack _ , while Bakugo stood protectively over his recuperating companion. Midoriya perched close to Aizawa, attention firmly on the direction Shigaraki was sent as he surveyed the area with bated breath. Balgrund forced himself back to his feet and made his way over towards Helgen Tower until Shigaraki came into sight. As the villain stumbled, Balgrund once again repeated  _ "Krii Lun Aus!" _ and watched as the villain's eyes widened before he dropped to one knee. When the wrinkled man glared at him, Balgrund could feel the unadulterated hatred flowing from every pore as the calloused hand started scratching at his neck at breakneck speeds.

"No, no, no, no, no, this isn't how it was supposed to go!" Shigaraki muttered, his eyes wide and deranged as he snapped. "I'LL KILL YOU ALL!"  the villain raged and launched himself at the nearest target. Balgrund grabbed the madman's wrists as he tried to keep the attached hands away from his body, and  in particular his throa t, which Shigaraki grasped at in frenzied attempts. When the lunatic finally accomplished his goal, he found with utter disbelief, that he no longer had the strength required to strangle the Dragonborn through his physical and spectral armors, and couldn't decay them either. When Balgrund threw him off and stood over the wide-eyed enemy, all Shigaraki could say was, "What the hell did you do to me?!"

He never received an answer, only a savage armored fist to the temple, rendering him unconscious. Balgrund had no intention of explaining that the shout he used weakens an enemy over time, which Shigaraki was too wrapped up in his opponents to realize. Then the warrior's focus shifted to the Daedric Princes, who'd remained silent throughout the duration of the battle. "Well?" he prompted, "We defeated your 'champion'. Now it's your turn to uphold your end of this bargain you made. They go home, and you leave them be. Or are you Daedric Princes just sore losers?" Balgrund taunted, in the hopes that he could speed the process along. Sometimes these entities enjoyed the back and forth, so the adventurer was betting on that to work, though he wasn't entirely certain it was a good idea.

**"Oh dear, you've got quite the tongue on you, I like it! So much, in fact, I may just tear it from your mouth. You poor mortals look like you could use a bit of rest. Are you tired? Go ahead, I'll help you get a good** **_long_ ** **sleep,"** Sheogorath shot back, eyes gleaming dangerously as he smiled.  **"But alas, a bargain is a bargain. Well, Mora? Shall we get on with it? I'd personally love to return to the Shivering Isles, Haskill is probably sobbing in his wee boots with me gone!"**

For several heart-pounding moments, Hermaeus Mora said nothing as his many  eyes glared at the Dragonborn and the three heroes alongside him. Each of the 4 conscious mortals felt their ability to breathe cease when the deity finally voiced his response.  **"One way or another, Dragonborn, I will continue to expand the libraries of Apocrypha. I already obtained all the knowledge available from Tomura. You have only succeeded in delaying the inevitable, for not even you can protect everyone,"** warned the Prince before a tentacle sprouted from the immobilized Shigaraki's chest, causing Midoriya to close his eyes and clench his fists while Bakugo grit his teeth and averted his gaze. Aizawa tensed, his visage set with grim acceptance, armed with the knowledge that nothing he could have done would've saved the villain.  **"Enjoy this insignificant triumph while you can, mortals, and know that once I've eradicated the last Dragonborn, nothing shall stop me from claiming more of the knowledge I seek."**

With that ominous declaration, another rift opened up behind the three heroes and Hermaeus Mora tossed  his deceased champion's empty husk at their feet with a flick of his green appendage before both he and Sheogorath faded into the virescent fog as it dissipated along with the final vestiges of his spectral armor. Once he was sure they had no intentions of returning, Balgrund turned to his comrades and removed his horned, draconic helmet and revealed his face as a sign of respect. The male had black hair that framed his face with a braid on either side, and a scar that ran from over his right eye down to his mustache and braided beard. "It was a pleasure to do battle beside you lot. You have my respect," the seasoned warrior praised as he clasped each of their forearms and gave them a firm squeeze. "Your names will be remembered, I'll make sure of it. Perhaps one day, we'll meet again."

Two of the three heroes returned his smile, their expressions clearly relieved by the prospect of their impending return home. The third simply smirked, but the warrior knew he felt the same as his comrades. "Yes, perhaps some day we will. On the behalf of all the people you helped to save by bringing down Shigaraki, I, Shota Aizawa, also known as the Underground Hero Eraserhead, thank you. We won't forget what you did, and I hope we cross paths again," announced the scruffy teacher with the traces of a smile that tugged up on the corners of his lips. Having said all they wished to say, the three heroes collected Shigaraki's body and were soon swallowed by the closing rift. As Balgrund stood in the ruins of Helgen, he made note of the three unconscious bandits that had been safely tucked away in a partially collapsed but stable house. 

_ 'Strength truly does come in many forms. It would have been far easier to kill rather than spare one's enemy in the heat of battle. Perhaps there is more for me to learn from them than meets the eye. But if there's one thing I know for certain, it's that while Hermaeus Mora and Sheogorath aren't finished yet, Shigaraki will never darken their doorstep again,' _ were his final thoughts before he left the ruined city's gates to be swallowed once more by the flowing liquid curtain overhead.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope y'all enjoy this little taste of writing!


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